Tantalus
by Newly
Summary: The youngest son of the Kazekage, sleepless and contemptuous with little regard for life. 17-year-old Tenten respects prodigies the way prodigies deserve to be respected—especially when one is put under her care. Neji is not pleased. Neji x Tenten x Gaa
1. chapter 1 :: rendezvous

**Tantalus  
chapter 1 :: rendezvous**

**Summary**: The youngest son of the Kazekage, sleepless and contemptuous with little regard for life. 17-year-old Tenten respects prodigies the way prodigies deserve to be respected—especially when one is put under her care. Neji is not pleased. Neji x Tenten x Gaara

* * *

It was rather irksome how Tenten had accepted a class B mission—this class B mission in particular.

Neji tolerated the fact that the Hokage herself had taken the responsibility of presenting the mission details to his female jounin friend; he (_barely_) tolerated the fact that Tenten refused to tell him what exactly this particular class B mission entailed; he tolerated the fact that she apparently told Lee, and Lee, being the priggish taijutsu expert he was, waved around that particular bit of knowledge in his face (the fact that he knew—nothing concerning the mission itself; Lee was too damn _nice_ to spill any of his onee-chan's secrets)…

But this was too damn much.

It was rather irksome, Neji decided in so many words, that Tenten wasn't paying attention to him. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Listlessly, the chopsticks in her hand swirled the untouched Ramen in her bowl. He immediately deduced the soup was getting cold, and he signaled for a someone to take the bowl away; he would have commented on it, had he been the type to initiate small talk, so—

…The bowl was gone, and she was _still_ holding her chopsticks. Waving them in empty air.

…This was certainly not _his_ Tenten.

He spoke at last, brow furrowed.

"You look like an idiot."

A pause, and then Tenten blinked, green eyes refocusing; she shot the chopsticks in her hand a furtive glance, and then shot the vacant space on the table yet another furtive glance, before slowly setting the sticks down. She folded her arms and rested them on the table, lowering her head into the small cradle her forearms made—after all, resting your head in your arms is more comfortable than just plopping it onto a hard wooden surface.

…She hadn't noticed he was there.

He cleared his throat noisily, obviously rather put off at the fact she had snapped out of her reverie only to fall into another. As soon as he emitted the sound, she _yelped_ and whipped out her kunai, giving him barely enough time to shift three inches to the left as the knife imbedded itself three inches to his right.

Neji stared some more.

Now, Neji had the nasty habit of staring at Tenten, but this wasn't because of that unfathomable reason he had pondered for many nights as of late. No, he was staring because Tenten was acting…bizarre.

She blinked a few more times, eyes fixated on the edge of her kunai knife before her focus moved to the unmoved (but highly unnerved) Hyuuga Neji. Without removing her eyes from his—or rather, that spot between his colorless eyes, just above the nose—she disentangled her knife from the chair, and in an instant it was back in its holster at her thigh.

Silence. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, attempting a laugh. It came out hoarse and awkward, and she stopped abruptly. She looked down. "Uh…where's my Ramen…?"

"It was getting cold," Neji said shortly as his bowl was taken away and the bill was placed on the table. Tenten began to fish around in her pockets for her wallet, and after about thirty seconds of her searching, Neji relented at last, pulling his own wallet out of his pocket and dropping a fistful of bills on the table.

"Thanks," she said, again sheepishly, shooting him a winning smile. He harrumphed and stood, striding languidly out of Ichiraku with Tenten trailing along after him.

"You're acting strangely."

She laughed, the only expression of her anxiety. "Yeah, you noticed, huh? Well, of course you did, seeing as how you're Hyuuga Neji and all, and…" …and she was rambling. Neji sighed inwardly and attempted to suppress the urge to simply _ask_ for the reason as to why she was acting like—like—well, _someone_. "…I guess I'm being silly, but…"

"Does this concern the mission assigned to you by Hokage-sama?" he asked tonelessly, aimlessly wondering if he was being too intrusive.

"Umm…is it that obvious? It's just a class B mission…but…"

"A class B mission Hokage-sama personally assigned," he muttered, more to himself than her. He knew she had heard, though.

Neji wasn't stupid. Of course he wanted to know just what this mission was and why it was making her so damn frustratingly _antsy_, and he knew that if he pressured her enough, she would tell him everything because she _respected_ him. But he didn't _want_ to force it out of her, and it made him somehow frustrated that she had told Lee and Lee hadn't required prior consent—so why should he?

"Neji…" She sighed, rubbing the metal plate on her forehead protector and brushing her uneven black hair out of her eyes. Her hair was drawn into one bun rather than the two neat globes of hair resting atop her head; he was accustomed to her strange hairstyle, but somehow she looked slightly more mature like this—elegant, to an extent.

To an extent. This was, after all, Tenten.

He focused on her words rather than his thoughts. She was still speaking, having moved her fingers from the metal plate to the cloth and massaging the skin beneath. "…and this mission is really kind of burdensome, so I might not be able to hang out with you or Lee for a bit…"

"You're not leaving Hidden Leaf." It wasn't a question, but a statement asking for confirmation. She looked indignant for a fraction of a second, and then caught on rather quickly.

"No…no, I'm not. I'll still be around, but…just…not _around_, you know?"

"…No." As in no, he didn't know.

Her eyes flitted from side to side gingerly, as if afraid anyone might overhear. Briskly, she trotted to Neji's side, still glancing around. Neji simply gave her a Look—a rather suspicious one at that. She sighed and made a quick gesture with her hand. "Keep walking." And he kept walking, keeping his pallid eyes coolly fixed on hers, _willing_ an explanation to flow from her lips. Lo and behold, one did. "I guess I should tell you about my mission, huh?" she murmured, twiddling her thumbs.

Neji said nothing, and, sensing her nervousness (she was glancing around again), he managed to move his eyes elsewhere. He felt some of the tension leave her shoulders, and she sank from a rigid position to her usual nonchalant slouch.

(Her fingers were still twitching. He pretended not to notice.)

"I've been asked to guard someone," she said slowly, concentrating very hard on the sidewalk.

"…Someone important?" he prompted when she didn't continue.

Tenten chuckled nervously, reflexively scratching the back of her head. "Uh…I guess it depends on who you ask, really. I never really liked the guy." She made a face. "Lee got pretty pissed when I told him, in fact. Asked me why I had to do it. I don't know myself… Well…hmm…" Tenten grinned and lightly smacked Neji on the shoulder; he frowned, but she didn't flinch. "You know, I think I'll avoid telling you outright." He opened his mouth to make a snide remark, but she continued, "Alright, the Almighty Hyuuga Neji. Guess."

"…I hate guessing games."

"You hate lots of things, Neji. Come to think of it, you're a lot like that Uchiha, the one Sakura's dating."

"Don't compare me to him."

"Psh. Right. Whatever. Guess. Come on. Three chances…"

She was being jittery again. Neji sighed. "…Uchiha Sasuke." Lee was a very tenacious person, but the taijutsu master was by no means hostile. However, the mere mention of Sasuke's name was enough to rile him up in an instant.

"Nope."

Neji was mildly surprised to find himself running out of options already.

"I knew you couldn't do it. Give up?" Silence. She took that as a yes. "Starts with a G…"

"…Genma-sensei?"

"You're kidding, right?" Tenten shot him an incredulous look; he had the grace to shrug. "Hokage-sama and some jounin guards found him pretty beaten up and lying facedown in the dirt just outside the village. Not unconscious. Wide awake. He…" She appeared to be struggling with the proper emotion to display—righteous anger or melancholy. He could read these things without the Byakugan; Neji knew the people around him. "Hokage-sama wants me to nurse him back to health…!" She fumed.

"…_You_?"

"I know! Damn it, I'm not a medic and she knows it! Hokage-sama could do this herself!"

"…Why _you_?"

Suddenly, a red-hot blush arced across her pale cheeks, and Neji's eyebrow quirked almost to his hairline. Oh, _now_ he was suspicious. So. Very. Suspicious.

Tenten realized the pallor her face adapted and pressed her palms to her cheeks. "I can't believe this," she muttered. "…But that's not important!" Tenten declared, straightening with a resolute expression etched onto her face. "Alright! Give up? Three A's, all after the G…"

G. A. A. A. Now, how many people had three A's and a G in their name? Neji didn't really know. Or care. He was failing this guessing game miserably. He expressed his mild frustration with a grunt, and she snorted derisively. Damn it, she read him far too well and without a damn Byakugan. But, just as immediately, her shoulders slumped in a not very nonchalant way.

"…Just _tell_ me," he urged with a sigh.

"But…argh! You'll just…I… You wouldn't understand!"

"…" What was there not to understand? Did Tenten really think him incapable of recognizing or analyzing a mere _name_? Neji was insulted, kind of. Except he was more confused than insulted. What was so complex, so aggravatingly above his level of intelligence that he, Hyuuga Neji, could not even begin to comprehend?

Silence. And then, she spoke four words in a steady and neutral voice.

"Gaara of the Desert."

He received an epiphany as to just what was so complex and aggravatingly above his level of intelligence. He, Hyuuga Neji, could not even begin to comprehend.

After a short and unbelievably fast series of flashbacks, Neji decided that if he was ever to be expressive in his life, it would be circumstances like these that would trigger it.

So he did what any Hyuuga Neji would do.

He choked.

He didn't just choke. He gagged on something that wasn't quite there. His colorless eyes appeared torn between widening and shrinking, but to compensate for their indecisiveness his eyebrows shot up and his hand flew to his neck, where something that wasn't quite there had lodged itself in his air pipe.

"Neji? Are you _choking_!? Neji!"

And just like that, he regained his composure, struggling to return his eyes and eyebrows to a standard and solemn state. He rubbed his throat with his right hand and sank back into his characteristic scowl.

"Oh, you're okay. Thank goodness—hey! Just where do you get off scaring me like that!? Idiot!"

"Tenten," he said at last, voice gravelly because a nonexistent something had only recently left his throat. His voice was that of an authoritarian's, calculated and commanding. Tenten clamped her mouth shut, though her thin eyebrows were still drawn low over her emerald eyes in a concerned frown. Damn it, she cared way too damn much about his well-being. "You accepted…?"

"What choice did I have!? You can't just refuse a mission personally assigned to you by Hokage-sama! It's…just…not right!"

"…Do you know what danger you might be in?"

"It's a class B mission. Hokage-sama would have given it an A if it was worthy of an A!"

"Tenten," he said again, more pleading and more weary. She was silenced again. "You don't know what he is capable of. You _will_ get hurt."

Tenten emitted a scathing sound somewhere between a grunt and a snort. "Don't give me that crap, Neji. Shinobi get hurt every day. He's crippled, for crying out loud! Hokage-sama—she's actually capable of deciding whether or not he can ever use his legs again! And his hands," she added as an afterthought. Which meant no seals, which meant no jutsus.

Neji was not a happy camper. He was angry about the fact she would be perfectly safe. Who the hell gets angry over something like _that_?

…Hyuuga Neji, that's who.

"You blushed," Neji said somewhat accusingly, some part of his brain noting they were idly standing in peoples' paths. Oh, hell. They could have leapt clear over his head for all the damns he gave. He advanced slowly, almost predatorily with a suspicious look in his eyes. And as he advanced, she backed away, one eyebrow raised and nervousness overcoming her once irritated disposition.

"Neji, don't you dare," she hissed halfheartedly, raising her hands in a very Hinata-like attempt to create a sort of…emotional wall…or whatever. She yelped at the back of her throat as her shoulders were suddenly pressed firmly against a wall she could have _sworn_ wasn't there before. "Dammit!" she hissed again, eyes darting from one place to another.

She was _cornered_. But whereas Tenten found it a damn good reason to panic, Neji found this a very amusing situation.

"You blushed," he repeated more softly this time, slamming his hands on either side of her and leaning in close. Very close. It was funny when she was jittery like this, fighting the wisp of redness (fury?) that tinged her pale face to no avail and wishing that she hadn't just backed into a _wall_. "Why?"

His breath fanned strands of black out of her face.

Suddenly, she looked tentatively over his shoulder, and Neji knew the moment was over when relief swept across her face. She splayed her palm on his shoulder and roughly shoved him out of the way (he stumbled away in a very dignified manner, of course) and waved enthusiastically to Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino, sneaking Neji a glance out of the corner of her eye before trotting to the duo.

Neji couldn't help but feel victorious for some reason.

He also couldn't help but feel a profound sense of loss at the fact that the moment was indeed over.

"Hey Ino! Shika," Tenten greeted with a curt nod. She didn't know Shikamaru that well, but still considered him one of her friends. She was just like that, Neji decided. "What's up?"

Shikamaru gave Tenten and Neji a Look. Not just any look, no. Shikamaru's patented I-Have-Arrived-At-A-Startling-Conclusion-About-You-And-Am-Damn-Good-At-Keeping-It-Secret© look.

Ino noticed, too. And she watched him intently, trying to figure out just what it was that Shikamaru had managed to analyze.

And there was silence until Neji just couldn't take it anymore. Those beady eyes of his were—were overly analytical, damn it!

"What?" Neji barked.

And then, Shikamaru spoke.

"Were you trying to rape her just then?"

"IDIOT!!!" Ino screamed, smashing him over the head with a well-placed fist.

"Ow," the genius jounin muttered, having doubled over from the impact. But other than that, he didn't seem too affected.

He gave Neji another Look, and he quickly realized that Shikamaru had yet to voice his _real_ deductions.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ah, nothing like sexual tension. No love triangle fun yet. Some Shikamaru x Ino in the background, some Sasuke x Sakura, Naruto x Hinata—all your basic hetero pairings. I won't put any Kakashi x Iruka—there's just no _room_, though I love that pairing dearly.


	2. chapter 2 :: umbrage

**Tantalus  
chapter 2 :: umbrage**

**Summary**: The youngest son of the Kazekage, sleepless and contemptuous with little regard for life. 17-year-old Tenten respects prodigies the way prodigies deserve to be respected—especially when one is put under her care. Neji is not pleased. Neji x Tenten x Gaara

* * *

Nara Shikamaru was a genius, no doubt about it. To Ino, he was amazing and wonderful in every way, and he was cute when he was sleeping and being lazy, and everyone was always so amazed when he solved the most difficult of conundrums in the blink of an eye (that Rubik's Cube he finished in 4 seconds still sat on the bookshelf in Iruka-sensei's classroom), and he looked better with his hair down and he only took his hair down for his parents and Ino, and—and—and—

And he was too damn good at keeping secrets.

Or maybe it cost him too much energy to destroy his veil of mystery.

"Shika!!" she whined, clasping her hands together and stomping her feet. "Come on! You know something about Tenten-chan and—and Neji!"

He wilted visibly. "…So?"

"You know something about them I _don't_!" Ino whined some more.

"…Hasn't it always been like that?"

"SHIKA!" Now she was angry.

"…What?" Obviously, he was expecting a subject change.

Ino decided to use her trump card, the one that worked on even the most stoic and calloused person (aside from Sasuke and Neji, but they didn't count). Her eyes grew round and her lightly glossed lower lip quivered; her hands clasped more tightly together. The Angel Ino face always worked on strangers and her family _and_ Sakura and Chouji, but she hadn't quite tested it on Shikamaru…

One of Shikamaru's eyebrows elevated, and the heavy-lidded eye beneath it widened almost imperceptibly. But Ino took that as a good sign, and inwardly she squealed with glee. _It's working!_

"Please?"

"…Please…what?"

"Tell me please!" she pressed, leaning towards him—the visage of purity. The blonde hair she had hacked off four years ago had grown to nearly its original length, and some of it spilled over her shoulders.

Shikamaru bit his lip.

_Yes!_ "Pleaaaaaaaaase!" she exclaimed, knowing this was _overkill_ and loving every minute of it.

"Dammit, Ino," he cursed in a strange, tiresome breed of affection. He sighed. "…What is it that you need to know?" he asked flatly, pointedly not looking at her and instead focusing on the cloudless sky. No cloud-watching today, he observed somewhat glumly. Now he had even less of a reason to lie down and be…well…lazy.

She grinned wickedly and then proceeded with her inquiry. "You gave Neji a _look_. Just what were you thinking, Nara Shikamaru? I know you were thinking something."

He sighed and contemplated massaging his forehead to rid himself of the oncoming headache. Then he decided it was too much trouble. "Neji likes Tenten. Tenten has been infatuated with Neji since she was about six years old. Do the math." Because obviously, Shikamaru wasn't going to do it himself. Shikamaru was Shikamaru.

A pause. Ino made a face. "That's _it_?"

"What's it?" he asked.

"That's _it_? I've known that since…forever!" Ino screamed, flinging her hands in the air. "God, Shika! Everyone knows that! That was the most useless thing you've ever deduced! Shika!!"

Oh yeah, that was definitely a headache. Shikamaru winced. "…Neji hasn't."

She stopped in the midst of her tirade. "Neji hasn't what?"

"…Known that since 'forever'."

"…Really?" She was getting that gleam in her eyes. Not just any gleam, the Ino I'm-Up-To-No-Good© gleam. Shikamaru had the sudden urge to run. "_Really_," she repeated, unclasping her hands and rubbing them together deviously. "Shika!! I have an idea!" Ino shrieked. "I'll tell you about it later. I must go!" And with that, the blonde jounin dashed off at lightning speed.

_…_

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome."

Suddenly, Ino dashed back. "Almost forgot something." With that, she hastily pressed a strawberry-flavored kiss to his lips, and _then_ sped off into the distance. He blinked.

Shikamaru smiled. "How troublesome."

---

There were exactly 140 ceiling tiles.

Gaara of the Desert lay motionless and wide-awake on what was once an immaculate white infirmary bed (which was now an immaculate, spotted red-and-white infirmary bed), pale eyes scrutinizing the smallest and most invisible life forms (or lack of thereof) in the air and on the ceiling and inching nearer to the gourd of sand sitting halfway across the room.

He had been laying quite motionless and quite awake for six hours and 47 minutes now.

The door was closed, but it was locked. It hadn't been locked when the Hokage left, but it was locked now, thanks to his handy dandy sand. He felt like being left the hell alone until he recovered feeling in his hands.

Judging by the state of the bone fragments in his wrists the Hokage had described to him, he suspected it would take a good…oh, two months and a week?

He could wait.

Gaara could sustain himself without food or a restroom for a good amount of time. Sure, maybe he'd feel the silent urge to kill someone during the course of those two months and a week, but he'd be fine. When his hands healed, he could kill anyone he wanted to.

Muffled voices. Gaara's focus shifted to the door.

"What the…hell? It…door…locked."

Gaara was pleased with himself.

Suddenly, the doorknob was violently wrenched in a direction it should not have gone, and there was a loud bang indicated that…

Well, this particular hospital room would need a new doorknob. They'd also need to wedge out the piece of metal, formerly a lock, jammed in the doorframe. Gaara would have been impressed if he wasn't Gaara. Rather than impressed, he was rather displeased at being interrupted whilst he was counting the amount of dust particles in the room…

Actually, maybe a disturbance was good.

In the doorway stood a particularly unthreatening woman about his age with black hair tied up into two buns on top of her head (they looked like meatballs); she was examining the doorknob where she had broken it, obviously sheepish.

Her gaze moved upward slowly to meet his scowl. "Hi," she said flatly, stepping into the room and kicking the door closed behind her. "Gaara of the Desert, I presume?"

He said nothing. Instead, he looked at her as if she was an inferior life form. Which she was.

"I assume I presumed correctly," she said, again flatly. "Well…my name is Tenten. I'm going to be your personal caretaker for a bit, which essentially means that for an extended period of time I am your slave—seeing as how you are a cripple."

Silence. And then, "…Cripple," Gaara echoed with some distaste concerning her wording, moving his eyes back towards the ceiling. She was dragging a chair to his bedside. "Your assistance is unwanted."

"Listen, buddy, I got a job to do and I'm doing it whether you like it or not." And with that, she plopped into aforementioned chair and gave him a hard look. "Don't think I wanna do this, either, but you need my help whether you like it or not."

"My physiology is far more self-sufficient than yours." The corner of Gaara's lip twitched faintly—the only visible sign of his agitation. "…You should leave."

Her eyes shot momentarily towards the gourd lying in the middle of the room. She swallowed, and he knew she was steadying her voice. "Don't even try it. You're in no condition to fight me."

"Am I?"

"You're not," she snapped, patience dwindling. "Now shut up." With that, she sighed and brandished a fresh roll of bandages from her cargo pants, giving the sand demon the once-over before raising an eyebrow. "I don't believe this. You put your bloody and stinky shirt back on after they bandaged you? Idiot."

Inwardly, he rolled his eyes. She talked too much.

She hesitated before placing one hand on his shoulder and hoisting him up about an inch from the bed; she splayed her other palm on his back until he appeared to be sitting up. She grabbed the pillows from the shelf and propped them up behind him, and he winced as an unhealthy crack resonated from his lower back.

"My name's Tenten," she said absently, concentrating on lifting his black shirt over his head. "And…this might hurt a little. But you'll live, Gaara." With that, Tenten's free hand reached over and pulled his arms upward—another crack, and Gaara's eyes squinted in slight pain—before pulling the shirt off.

A pause. Gaara blinked. "It's rude to stare," he told her dispassionately, feeling a pair of eyes analyzing his back whilst he faced the other way.

Tenten scoffed. "Don't be a pervert." Her fingernails slid beneath a bandage and slowly she began to unravel it; slightly clotted slashes crisscrossed his pale skin, and there were at least three very visible indentations Tenten suspected originated from the impact of a fist. She inhaled sharply. "You're really beaten up, you know that?" she asked quietly, tracing a delicate finger on the outer edges of one of his dried injuries.

"Don't do that," Gaara hissed, head spinning around to glare at her.

She withdrew her hand. "Sorry," she said truthfully, discarding a bloody bandage. "I didn't know it still hurts."

"…It doesn't."

Tenten looked up to meet his eyes, but he had already turned away.

She sighed and stuck her hand out at an awkward angle, grabbing a bottle of antibiotic from a shelf. "Who would do this to someone?" she murmured to herself, applying the ointment to some of the fresher cuts. "Do you know who did this to you…?"

"It doesn't matter."

Tenten raised a brow. "It doesn't, huh?"

"No."

"I see how it is," Tenten observed, wiping her hands on her shirt and glancing around, picking up the roll. "Well, you don't need to worry about me interfering with that whole 'I have a stick up my ass so if anyone's gonna get revenge here it's me' thing. I'm just here to make sure you leave Hidden Leaf in one piece."

Silence.

Gaara's torso was fairly bound in thick white strips, and suddenly movement became much more restrained; she clapped her hands together and grinned. "Whoo! That wasn't so hard, was it? All right, can you move your left arm? …No? Alright, fine… God, it's like moving a Barbie doll…"

His head tilted slightly to the side.

"…Not that I've ever played with one. Don't get the wrong idea! Now could you just—damn it! Fine, make me hold it. I know you can at least move your shoulders…" Tenten grumbled, leaning to the side to avoid getting smacked by his limp arm. She sighed and reached for the antibiotic again. "Your arms aren't cut up as badly…but the bones in it are…"

She bit her lip.

Gaara was still silent.

"I'd give you a sling, but it's both of your arms, not just one…" Tenten grit her teeth. "Oh, hell. I'll figure that out later. Now I'll get to work on your…" Pause. "…legs…"

Gaara craned his head around to look at her, expression considerably impassive.

Tenten's eyes were widening gradually but considerably; she looked positively scandalized at the idea of removing his pants.

Rightfully so. Gaara didn't want anyone touching his pants, shorts, or whatever the hell else he would wear on his legs (excluded among which were skirts).

She glanced at him, eyes still rather rounded and horrified-looking. "Well," she ventured timidly, "would you…you know, freak out…or try to kill me…or call it sexual harassment? 'Cause it's not, and I'm just your caretaker or whatever, and, you know…"

He stared.

Tenten grinned, albeit nervously. "…Alright! I'll take that as a 'No, Tenten, I will not accuse you of raping me and I will in fact allow you to help me get better'!" She rubbed her hands together, laughing rather awkwardly. "Alright! Let's, um…get to work, shall we? Heh!"

Gaara stared some more. "Your talking…"

Pause.

"…It's getting on my nerves."

She glared at him.

---

"Hey Neji, you seen Tenten around this afternoon?"

Neji grimaced visibly, colorless eyes narrowing; he shoved his fists further into his pockets and resisted the sudden urge to punch one happy, smiling Uzumaki Naruto very hard in the jaw. Because, no, Neji had not seen Tenten at all—not since they had had lunch at Ichiraku yesterday, and though it had only been a day… Well, Neji was not the waiting kind of person, understandably.

"No," he said shortly, pace quickening. Naruto blinked and jogged to keep up, determined not to break eye contact.

"Really? She was with you most of the day yesterday. You think something happened to her?" Naruto continued, eyes drifting upwards as he imagined whatever brutally horrible fate might have befallen the girl. He cringed, as one particular thought seemed to disturb him. "Hoo boy… Well! Wanna go look for her?"

Neji stopped for a moment and glanced down at Naruto (who was a fairly tall jounin by all respects, and his long, spiked blonde hair just added to his height). Gradually, a corner of his colorless lip upturned into a tight smirk.

"Sure." He began walking again, still smirking. "I know where to start."

Naruto watched his retreating back for a few moments, craning his head slightly around to give Yamanaka Ino—who was idly standing next to a street hot dog vendor—a thumbs up.

Ino grinned.

With that, Naruto scampered ahead, rambling on about his day to a Hyuuga Neji who promptly ignored him.

---

"The last I heard of you, I was told you were freaking out because Sasuke made you bleed," Tenten murmured, having rolled up his pant legs (she would work on the thighs once she got over her initial embarrassment) and set to work. "A little strange how you're handling this so calmly. Well…you're older now, so I guess you have an excuse."

He was staring at the ceiling.

"I missed your fight with Sasuke all those years ago," she informed him helpfully, and he shot her a glance before returning to his staring contest with the ceiling tiles. "I was visiting Neji in the infirmary. You remember Neji?" Tenten pinked slightly as she said the name. "The guy who ranted about destiny and fate and how he was resigned to it…"

Gaara rolled his eyes. He remembered the speech quite vividly, thank you very much. Gaara didn't forget things easily.

His sensitive ears registered the sounds of footsteps, and he looked at her; she was _still talking_, apparently not having noticed. Gaara sighed inwardly, because admittedly, she was pathetic and yet not enough to sate his bubbling homicidal rages.

He couldn't move his fingers, but that was okay.

Slowly, ominously, the sand in the gourd crept out and into the air, riding on the slow and lifeless wind currents before slowly seeping out the open door. If he was lucky, than the two intruders would be dead and this woman wouldn't suspect a thing until she left. And even then, he reasoned, she couldn't outright accuse him or do anything about it.

This would be a clean job.

The footsteps became louder and faster paced. Gaara frowned slightly; the steps should have stopped by then. If he could move his hands, they—whoever they were—would have been dead at least six seconds ago…at _least_. He sighed, having no choice but pursuit.

Two figures stood at the doorway, one panting with overexertion and the other unmistakably calm. Gaara looked at them, keeping his sand suspended just outside the doorframe—and out of that woman's line of vision should she take a look.

Uzumaki Naruto stopped panting just in time to scream at the top of his lungs.

Tenten looked up, a blush evident on her face; her eyes narrowed upon settling on Hyuuga Neji. "What the hell are you two—Naruto, stop screaming, god damn it!!"

"BUT HIS PANTS! YOU—AUGH! MY EYES!!! THEY BURN, OH HOW THEY BURN!! WHY ME GOD!? YOU KNOW I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG!!"

Naruto's fingers were tangled in his hair and he was screaming lamentations on how his eyes should have melted our fallen out of his head.

Neji was quiet, though his left eyebrow was twitching visibly and his knuckles had begun to crackle very _loudly_.

Gaara blinked, momentarily forgetting about the fact his sand was still awaiting his command. Then he looked down.

"…"

"Ah, quit your bitchin'!" Tenten snapped hotly, yanking Gaara's pants back over his waist. "You weren't paying attention, so I thought I'd get it over with! And—and why the hell can't you wear underwear or something! Jeez!" Her face was bright red from embarrassment, and yet also somehow greenish from the prospect of—of looking.

Naruto stopped screaming. "Wow. Gaara of the Desert goes commando." Pause. He then resumed screaming and clawing at his eyes.

Neji's eyebrow was still twitching, and veins began emerging from the sides of his face near his eyes.

Gaara looked at Neji.

Neji glared at Gaara.

Gaara looked at Tenten.

Tenten stared out the window.

Neji looked at Tenten.

Neji looked at Gaara.

Tenten looked at Gaara.

Gaara looked at Tenten.

"I should kill you."

Silence. Naruto stopped screaming, eyes narrowing dangerously at Gaara and fingers itching for the kunai hidden in his jacket. Neji stepped forward, pale eyes glinting with killing intent; more veins jutted out of his skin.

Gaara grinned as his sand swept in between Neji and Naruto, hovering, just waiting for the order. Neji's left foot shifted backwards, ready to sprint him to safety; Naruto's right foot mirrored Neji's movements, a concentrated frown evident on his normally playful expression.

Suddenly, Tenten's hand splayed across Gaara's forehead, fingers threading through his dark hair and palm covering his slightly widened eyes. "I think that's enough for today," she said quietly. "I'll come back tomorrow, same time, okay?"

His sand unceremoniously plopped back into the gourd. Gaara frowned, as did Naruto (though for an entirely different reason).

"You spent the entire _day_ with him," Neji clipped bitterly.

"Not really. It's only half past four," Tenten mumbled, standing and pulling up her sleeve to glance at her watch. "Still have time to hang out, and then dinner." With that, she shot an expectant look at Neji, who didn't quite comprehend; she strode over to him. "See you tomorrow, Gaara. It was nice talking to you. You know, in spite of the fact you didn't respond and you're a deranged sociopath."

Tenten smiled. Gaara stared.

With that, her fingers intertwined loosely with Neji's; the Hyuuga calmed almost instantaneously, and the pair walked out of the infirmary.

"Cute couple," Naruto observed, folding his hands behind his skull. "Kinda weird. She's been into him ever since her first day at the academy. One of the only girls who didn't like Sasuke." He paused in the midst of his reminiscing. "I think she likes you."

The shinobi lying in the bed rolled his eyes.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Aww, Gaara didn't kill them. And Tenten saw Gaara half naked. And Neji is not pleased.  
Tenten removed his pantalones when he was busy sending his sand after Neji and Naruto, in case you're wondering.


End file.
